From Wimbledon to Flushing, NY: tennis mind games
Decision Balance Newsletter | 7.17.2024
Key Insight
When something is done, learn from it and move on. Roger Federer won 54% of his points and said “when you lose nearly every second point on average you learn not to dwell on every shot.” He won 80% of 1,526 his singles matches and 20 grand slam championships!
A question to ask yourself
Can you point to an example where you delayed gratification or took small immediate losses to achieve significant long term gains? Robinson Crusoe, stranded on a deserted island initially fished using a line he attached to a stink barely catching enough food for the day. He decided to cut his fishing time using this method in half risking hunger so he could build a net. Yes, he suffered from hunger initially as he allocated time to this “r&d” but his innovation eventually reaped him great rewards. Crusoe is written in old english so perhaps you can (re)watch Cast Away for “modern” parallels.
Reading, podcast thoughts
There is much to gain from studying the life and career of Jeff Bezos. One interesting aspect of his approach was his regret minimization framework. This tool helped him walk away from a lucrative hedge fund career, drive across the country and start Amazon. Basically, he asked himself “when I am 80 would I regret walking away from what I am already doing and a big bonus or being directly part of something revolutionary like the internet?” Today is Amazon Prime Day so you know his answer. In listening to this podcast you can also ask yourself if his views that over communication was a sign of dysfunction, mid level managers should be fired in favor of more “doers,” and work/life balance is a fool’s errand were enlightened or a recipe for employee misery and unproductive high turnover.
In tennis, you can lose more points than your opponent and still win the match. This scoring quirk has been called the Quasi - Simpson paradox and illustrates that if you perform successfully when the stakes are highest you can succeed despite many small losses along the way. In baseball words, a good batting average is nice but slugging has an outsized impact. Life also has a unique scoring system, so practice how to be calm during rising intensity so you can win the points that matter most. To learn more about how to do this I suggest reading The Inner Game of Tennis where you can learn how to turn anxiety into productive effort.
Health
A brief dose of awe can reduce stress, decrease inflammation, and benefit the cardiovascular system. In his new book psychology professor at UC Berkeley Dacher Keltner writes “Awe,” is almost always nearby…but “those with wealth or status may find it harder to access.” Go on an “awe walk” and observe nature as if you are seeing it for the first time.
Welcome to the DecisionBalance newsletter where I share insights, questions, and reading recommendations. I coach asset managers and start-up founder/CEOs to set goals, improve performance, and find deeper meaning in their work.
